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Public Library of Charlotte & Meckenberg County, Charlotte, NC

The Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County strives to expand minds, empower individuals, and enrich its community. As the largest public library system in the Carolinas, the library has plenty of individuals to serve. It manages 24 library locations, numerous outreach programs, and a family of 18 Web sites, serving more than 850,000 county residents, 26,000 area users, and Web visitors from all over the world. Whether in its new ImaginOn facility or one of its smaller neighborhood branches, the Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County exemplifies an approach to service and programming that can transform lives.

Charles M. Brown has served as the Director of Libraries for the Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County since 2004. A native of St. Louis, Brown received a Masters of Library Sciences degree from Columbia University in New York City. He has extensive experience in library leadership from across the country, having worked at public libraries in California, Washington, DC, New Jersey, Ohio, Virginia, and Minnesota. His serves or has served as president of the Public Library Association (1991); president of the North Carolina Public Library Directors Association; and member of the Board of Directors for SOLINET (Southeastern Library Network). Brown received the 2005 Newcomer of the Year award from Leadership Charlotte, given to those who have sought opportunities to improve the quality of life in the community.

Surya Swilley (Sir-ya SWEE-lee): Surya is a 12-year-old library user and active volunteer. She volunteers every Thursday at the Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklinburg County’s Belmont Center branch library – the smallest of PLCMC’s 24 library locations with a total staff of two. Surya says when she started being home-schooled, she knew she would need to stay involved with extracurricular activities. In addition to her volunteer work, Surya spends a lot of time at the library’s ImaginOn Center, which she describes as “a place where kids can go to be kids.” In addition to just being with her friends at ImaginOn’s Teen Loft, Surya has taken several classes there in science, computer technology, and theatre. She also produced her own newscast at the center’s Studio I (Studio EYE) and recently made her first podcast. When IMLS asked Surya what she would do without ImaginOn, she thought for a few seconds before replying, “I couldn’t imagine.” Surya hopes to participate in the teen summer volunteer/intern program and be on the ImaginOn Teen Advisory Council. She’s looking forward to a career in education.